SEC Form N-14AE

SEC Form N-14AE is no longer an active form. It is an obsolete EDGAR submission type at one time used by open-end funds to file registration statements. SEC Form N-14AE has been replaced by SEC Form N-14.

SEC Form N-14AE came about to satisfy SEC Rule 488, which governs the effective date of registration of securities by open-end management investment companies. It constituted a registration statement required of open-end funds registering securities with automatic effectiveness under Rule 488, itself a consequence of Rule 145, which made the protections of the Securities Act of 1933 applicable to investors offered securities in previously excluded situations such as mergers and business combination transactions. Rule 488 specifies standards for effective registration dates of securities issued in transactions pursuant to Rule 145.  

The SEC declared in 2006 that it would be discontinuing SEC forms N-14AE and N-14AE/A and that entities formerly required to file those forms could immediately begin filing under SEC forms N-14 and N-14/A, where space was available to make a registration statement pursuant to Rule 488.

The Securities Act of 1933, which came as a response to the stock market crash 1929, stipulates that every US company must file a registration statement with the SEC in advance of a public offering.

Every registration statement, of which SEC Form N-14AE was one type, consists of two sections. The first is the prospectus, with its legal information and disclosures, which must be available to prospective buyers. The second section contains information to file with the SEC but not necessarily to share with investors.

The goal of the prospectus is to aid the investor in making an informed decision. The prospectus of an open-end fund describes things like the goals, strategies, risks, fees and distribution policy of the fund. A simple way for investors to educate themselves is to read the prospectus of the assets in their portfolio or of investment products they are considering.

The easiest way for investors to access registration statements in the United States is through the SEC’s EDGAR online filing system. Because of the importance of timely information to effective investing, EDGAR puts needed information, including registration statements, into the hands of investors and analysts as quickly as possible.

That said, there is a learning curve when it comes to extracting information from EDGAR files. SEC filings on EDGAR are of consistent structure, but they are often difficult to skim for specific data points at first. It’s one more reason for investors to practice reading registration statements as well as quarterly and annual reports.